Sterilizer



June 27, 1950 G. E. LEWIS 2,512,747

' STERILIZER Filed April 29, 1948 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGJ.

INVENTORL GEIRTRUDE EDNA LEWIS ATTORNE).

June 27, 1950 G. E. LEWIS 2,512,747

STERILIZER Filed April 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 '49 i F|G.4.

48 A I A;

m INVENTOR.

GERTRUDE EDNA LEWIS WM yaw HER AT7I'ORNEY.

Patented June 27, 1950 UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE,

s'rnnm znn Gertrude Edna Less, New York, N. Y.

Application April 29, 1948, Serial No. 23,921

This invention relates to sterilizers; more particularly to sterilizers operating with aqueous fluids or steam.

It is an object of my invention to provide a sterilizer commonly employed by surgeons, physicians, and dentists to sterilize the operative instruments by steam or boiling water which serves both to cleanse the instruments as well as to render them antiseptic. Known to me is the provision of sterilizers wherein a casing, in the form of a steam box or Water boiler, is provided with a closure or lid to retain the heat of steam or boiling water over a tray or basket in which the surgical instruments are placed for the purpose afore-indicated. The common-practice of grouping interests, especially by dentists, places an unusually heavy burden upon the sterilizer equipment which they may employ, and where the dentists may have a single nurse in service, present-day sterilizers have been found inadequate, especially in the limited space which these practitioners may require.

It is, accordingly, an object of my invention to effect substantial economies in the aforementioned instrumentalit whereby either steam or water sterilizers may have, in a common steam box or boiler, a plurality of trays or baskets by which the useful capacity of these receptacles may be immeasurably increased without effecting substantial change such as may be required in piping water drains or steam lines to the sterilizer and thereby effect substantial economies in space and equipment.

It is contemplated by my invention and an object thereof to provide a sterilizer operating by steam or boiling water, wherein the single manipulation of a pivotal lid exposes one or more trays for making accessible a largenumber of instruments retained on said trays for selection of use and to thereby more economically use the space occupied by sterilizers. It is contemplated further by my invention to provide a sterilizer in which a plurality of trays may be stacked to increase the capacity of the sterilizer, whether by steam or water, and without impairing the efiiciency of the sterilizing action or the circulation of the sterilizing medium about the instruments to be cleansed and sterilized, and further characterized by an integration of the manipulation of the multiple trays so employed to make the various trays accessible for inspection, loading, or unloading while relating the trays in a position so that the sterilizing medium is confined to the steam box or boiler receptacle.

In general, it is an object of my invention to Claims. (01.21-83) provide a sterilizer which operates with great facility and effects substantial elements of economy in use and production,

To attain this object and such further objects as I may appear herein, as will be hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompany ing drawings forming a part hereof, in which- J Figure l is a sectional view of a steam sterilizer in accordance with one embodiment of my invention, with the sterilizer lid closed;-

' Figure 2 is a section of the same sterilizer with the lid moved to the open position;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a sterilizer in accordance with another embodiment of myinvention intended to employ boiling water as the able valve means not shown and which do not form any part of my present invention. The receptacle I0 has a lid l4 hinged by the hinge l5 1 and including a handle member M5 for moving the lid Hi from and to the overlying position. I may resort to hand operation of the lid or employ well-known linkage, either hand or foot-treadle operated, to secure more or less remote control of the movement of the lid to leave the hands free, in a manner well known in this field.

In accordance with the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, I provide a plurality of trays ll, I8, and [9, each of which has continuous side wall portions adjacent the bottom of which there is supported a foraminous bottom 20, 2|, 22, respectively. Spaced from the rim of each tray there is provided a vane 23 connected adjacent the edge 24 and sloping downwardly to provide an outlet 25 for purposes which will appear hereinafter as this description proceeds.

Trays I1 and 18 each has adjacent the corners 26 and 27 hinged baffles 28 and 29, including resilient spring members 30 and 3| normally to urge the baiiies outwardly. With the construc-' tion thus described, the tray I! is mounted in the bottom member I l adjacent the rim 32 thereof by cross-pins 33 which hold the tray 11 centered transversely of the bottom section l-l'.- The."

.83 of the guides;

tray I8 is connected to the tray H by links 34 and 35 employing pivot pins 36-36 and 31-31 on the trays ll and 18, respectively, which are spaced apart in parallelism. The link 35 extends for double the distance to have its outermost end attached by the pivot pin 38 to the tray IS. A link 40 has its opposite ends il, 4i connected to the trays l8, l9 by pivot pins or rivets. The relationship of the lengths of the links 34, 35, and 40 is to maintain the trays connected in parallelism in movement from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2. A connecting link 42 has one end 43 pivoted to the lid 14; its opposite end M has a guide slot 45 which rides on the pin 4|. The limits of the slot 45 serve in one position to engage the pinto draw the tray assembly from, the stacked. posi-- tion to the echelon position and then hold the cover member 14 against further pivotal move-- ment. In the opposite position the slot ends engage the pin ll to initially raise the trays l8 and t9 and. then stack them into the. position shown in Figure 1. In approaching. the stacked DQ-Sition, the corners it and 4? will first clear theedges of the baffles 28 and 29 and thereupon depress. the same into the position shown in. Figure l. The assembly comprising the stacked trays,, the vanes 23, and. the baffles 28 and 29, in connection with the open-ended tray I9, serves to provide a circulating path of the sterilizing fluid or steam circuitously so. that a. lateral as Well as an upward movement of the steam orlike liquid vapor i eii ected to. pass over the instruments which may be positioned upon. the ioraminous bases 28, 2|, and 22. Stratification or channeling of the-sterilizing vapor is therebyavoided in, the stacked position. of the trays. When thelid [4 is moved to expose and make accessible the instruments inpthe. various trays by pivoting the trays to the echelon position, the condensate of steam in the-trays gravitates from the uppermost tray iaalong the-vanes 2.3 from one. tray to another and thereupon intothe bottom vessel 1 l for drainage through the discharge line previously described.

By the. construction described, sterilization by steam orlilzevapor may be effected of a plurality ofitrays of instruments in a singlechamber or chest, the vanes and baffles in the embodiment illustrated cooperating in the closed position of. the; chest to prevent Stratification of the: vapor and. assure.- sweeping the sterilioing vapor over the, instruments; whereas in the openposition, the; vanes. serve toeifect drainage of the condensate. from the uppermost tray to the lowermost tray into, the bottom member I, maintaining the use of the assembly tidy.

Referring now to the embodiment. illustrated in. Figures.- ito 7;, I show a water boiler chest 48 which has. alid d9 hinged adjacent the topby the hingeifi. The inlet line 5!.- and outlet line 52 for. Water are shown more or less diagrammatically, since, the particular manner. in which the sterilizing liquid. is to be-added or taken from the chest dorms. no particular part of my present invention- Within the chest 48 there is suspended. a foraminous basketfis which is spaced from the walls of. thechest by the brackets: 54 and 55. An overhanging rearward flange '56 and a forward flange: 51 rest on the brackets 55 and 55, respectively. Thumb screws 58 and hold thebasket in. the. bracket-engaging position removably. Within the-basket I provide guides Bil-.slidably to hold'the tray iitbypins 62 which ride in the slots The slots 63 are extendedxto.

4 permit sliding movement vertically of the tray 6] from a lower position completely immersed within the fluid to be used for sterilization, or to an upper position, shown more clearly in Figure 7, wherein the upper limits of movement are above the normal liquid level of fluid within the chest 48. An upper tray 64 is provided with links 65 and 66 for pivotal movement by the end pins iii-437 and 686B to direct the movement of the tray 64 in parallelism from the stacked position shown in Figure 4 to the echelon position shown in Figure '7. As in the prior embodiment, the

trays 6i and 64 are formed with foraminous bottionshown in Figure '7. The lid 49 has a link H,

whose end '52 is pivoted to the link by a rivet. The linkl'ls at. its opposite end is formed with a slot 13 to engage the upper pin 61 on the side wall of the tray 64 by alost-motion coupling action. The link Hi-- has. its lower end formed with a slot 15 engaging a pin 78 on the lower tray 81. The upper end of the. link M has its end ll connected to th tray G t engaging the pin 68 Ihe' assembly thus far described, in its normall-y closed, position shown in Figure 4, retains the trays El and it below normal liquid level of.

the chest 38. Upon tilting the lid 49 upwardly, thelid', through the link H, first slides the slot over the. pin connecting the same to the tray 64 with lost motion until the limit or" the slot has been reached, whereupon all engagement of theend wall thereof with the pin 61 serves to draw the tray pi-votallyin parallelism about the pins 6:! and 6.3. The link it isthereupon drawn upwardlywith a tilting movement, with lost motion with relation to the pin. 16, until the limit of. the

slothasbeenv reached, whereupon it lifts the tray 6 upwardlyalong the guides 83 in parallelism.

The limiting position is reached where the lid 19- is pivoted rearwardly, whereupon the tray 6-! clears the liquid level L, permitting drainageto the water from the instruments through the.

The upper tray 64 may foram-i-nous bottom. drain. along, the vanes 59 into the chest or the upper tray, maintaining a tidy condition. on the support. for thesterilizing devices.

In; reversing: the operation, the lid 11.8, upon being brought to the closing position, serves to urge: the-link (at thereon against the outer pin 51 along the slot (3 until it abuts said pin to begin tilting action of the tray about; the pivots 6i: and: 68s on the links c5 and 83'. The action reieases: the tray t l to gravitate into the chest.

It will be understood that I may augment the where. they may drain gravitationally from onetray into the other and then into the chest. It also. be observed that the arrangement for draining one tray into the other serves in the sterilizing position to avoid channeling 0f the circulating sterilizing medium. Thus, I provide a medium'for raising the trays from within thesteriiizing liquid to a zone where the instruments .mquntechcthereon maybe reached readily for selection or arrangement to increase the utility of the sterilizing chamber and effect substantial economies as well as facility in use of the device.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a sterilizer having a lidded chest within which sterilizing fluid may circulate, a plurality of instrument trays, including linkage for stacking the same in superimposed position, said trays being fcraminous, and including baflles mounted on a side wall of said trays for circulating said sterilizing fluid transversely over said trays, and means comprising vanes staggered with relation to said baffles to cascade the sterilizing fluid into said chest upon moving said trays outwardly from said chest, said vanes cooperating with said baflles to minimize channeling and stratification of said sterilizing fluid in circulating through and over said trays.

2. A sterilizer comprising a chest adapted to contain a sterilizing fluid, a plurality of instrument trays arranged therein in superimposed position, a lid for said chest, means to hinge said lid to said chest, parallel links connecting the uppermost of said trays with the walls of the chest and means connecting said lid and links for lifting said trays vertically to a point above the chest, and to pivot the uppermost tray substantially entirely outside the plane of the vertical walls of said chest, with a portion overlapping one of said underlying trays, the uppermost tray having enclosing side and end walls and a bottom formed with draining orifices, and a draining vane beneath said bottom sloped to incline in the direction of the overlapping portion of said tray for drainage of the fluid from said overlying tray into said chest, the linkage for the superimposed tray uncovering an underlying tray, and guiding the lowermost underlying tray substantially within the plane of the vertical walls of the chest.

3. A sterilizer comprising a chest in accordance with claim 2. wherein the lowermost underlying tray includes guides restraining said tray for movement vertically.

4. A sterilizer comprising a chest in accordance with claim 2 wherein the depth of the chest extends to retain a liquid sterilizing fluid to cover the stack of trays and the guide for the lowermost tray is extended to direct the lowermost tray above the liquid level in said chest, while restraining the same within the plane of the vertical walls of the chest, as described.

5. A sterilizer comprising a chest in accordance with claim 2 wherein said drainage vane of a superimposed tray extends substantially over an underlying tray to position the outlet from said drainage vane closely adjacent the underlying tray, and provide a circulating bath, minimizing channelling of the sterilizing fluid.

GERTRUDE' EDNA LEWIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,238,074 Labadie et a1 Aug. 21, 1917 1,345,123 Bryant June 29, 1921 1,893,526 Shriver Jan. 10, 1933 2,13 1,408 Murrer Sept. 27, 1938 2,230,238 Duberstein et al Feb. 4, 1941 2,374,037 Piker Apr. 17, 1945 

